Foreign round-up: Cristiano Ronaldo nets a hat-trick as Real survive scare

A CRISTIANO Ronaldo hat-trick earned Real Madrid a 4-2 comeback win against a classy Villarreal last night and cut Barcelona's La Liga lead to two points.

Ronaldo twice equalised for the home side in the first half and fired them in front in the 79th, before setting up substitute Kaka for the fourth near the end.

Jose Mourinho's team have 47 points from 18 games, with Barcelona on 49 after the champions swept aside Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 on Saturday.

Villarreal slipped 11 points adrift of Real in third place but proved they could match their hosts for quality in an absorbing encounter at the Bernabeu.

Cani had deservedly fired them in front after only seven minutes but Ronaldo equalised two minutes later, tapping in from Mesut Ozil's low cross.

Marco Ruben broke the Real offside trap to lob Casillas in the 18th as Villarreal dominated but again Ronaldo levelled, heading in from close range at a free kick just before the break.

Real gradually tightened their grip on the game and it was Ronaldo who reacted quickest to a goalmouth scramble to score late in the second half. He then raced down the left and crossed for Kaka to net his first goal this season since returning from injury.

Earlier, Espanyol crushed Real Zaragoza 4-0 at home to close on the Champions League qualification places.

In Italy, leaders AC Milan drew 4-4 with Udinese at the San Siro, while second-placed Lazio were beaten at home as the Serie A title race took a fresh twist at the midway point of the season.

Lazio lost 2-1 to lowly Lecce but champions Inter Milan, now 11 points adrift of Milan, won 2-1 at Catania thanks to Esteban Cambiasso's double to boost their outside hopes of a sixth successive title. .